Marcellus finds first manager

Former Mesa, Ariz., official expected to be hired by village.

Former Mesa, Ariz., official expected to be hired by village.

March 17, 2006|CAROL DRAEGER Tribune Staff Writer

MARCELLUS -- A former Mesa, Ariz.,, city official who moved to Mattawan last year may become Marcellus' first village manager. A committee organized to hire a village manager recently selected Laurie Sarkipato Goggin from three finalists. "She is our first choice," said Martha Westfall, acting village clerk and treasurer. Westfall was one of nine members on a village manager advisory selection committee. On Monday Goggin is expected to meet with the village's attorney to negotiate a compensation contract, said Marcellus Village Trustee Burke Webb. The salary range is expected to be about $43,000 to $47,000 a year, he said. The group is expected to make a recommendation to the village council on Thursday at its regular 7:30 p.m. meeting. Last week the advisory committee interviewed Goggin and two other potential candidates: Kevin Gillette, of Stevensville, and Craig Sumerix, of Buchanan. "All three candidates were well- prepared," Webb said. But Goggin, 55, the oldest of the finalists, had the most city government experience, having served as a quality and organizational development administrator for the city of Mesa from 1996 to 2003. Prior to that she held a number of executive positions for the city beginning in 1987. "The assets that Mrs. Goggin brings with her is a past history of having written and applied for a number of grants from federal and state government," said Webb. Goggin, reportedly, had a 90 percent success rate of securing grants for which she applied, he added. Goggin's wide experience, Webb said, will be helpful because she will build the village manager's job from the ground up. "We're institution building," he said. The council's decision to hire a village manager was not based on the personal troubles of the village's most recent former president Allen Fisk. Fisk is serving prison time for allegedly embezzling about $13,000 from Trinity Bible Church in Marcellus. He left the president's post last summer. "Mr. Fisk's problem wasn't what precipitated the interest in a village manager," Webb said. The village council has for months discussed the possibility of hiring a manager since it terminated a contract with an environmental company, Severn Trent, which ran the village's public works department. The village did not renew Severn Trent's contract in early December, saving the village between $60,000 and $70,000 a year, Webb said. The money, instead, was earmarked for hiring a village manager. "Village employees were self-directing with a part-time village president," Webb said. "But we recognized having a full-time administrative executive would benefit the village." Staff writer Carol Draeger: cdraeger@sbtinfo.com (269) 687-7005